I am excited to announce the Pacific Western Region will hold a regional assembly in 2018. The Pacific Western Regional Assembly will be held April 27-29, 2018, at the DoubleTree Hotel in Portland, Oregon.

This will be our region's second regional assembly. The first was held four years ago in San Jose, California, in April 2013. This regional assembly will take the place of an annual district assembly for each of the four districts, though each of the four districts will likely hold a separate business meeting in Portland.

Planning for this regional assembly is still very much in progress, but for now, I ask you, please, to do the following:

Put this on your congregation's calendar now.

Share the time and place of the regional assembly with your congregation.

Consider budgeting money or fundraising to enable individuals from your congregation to attend, especially youth, young adults, and individuals from historically marginalized groups who have not usually attended district or regional gatherings. (There will be youth-specific programming at this regional assembly.)

More detailed information as well as registration information for regional assembly will be available in the fall.

I believe our nation and our world have never been more in need of the radically inclusive, spiritually progressive, justice-seeking tradition that we call our own. I also believe that we as Unitarian Universalists do best in meeting that need when our congregations work together. When we do, we do a better job of nurturing the spiritual growth of our own members and nurturing the common good of the world we share. Our 2018 Pacific Western Regional Assembly, will be an opportunity to discover how, together, we can do a better job.